A Short Stretch Of California's Bullet Train Is 'The Project Of The Century'

An early stage of California's plan to build a network of high
speed trains faces engineering challenges that will make it the
"project of the century," UC Berkeley civil engineering professor
Bill Ibbs says.

The proposed 140-mile route from Bakersfield will send the bullet
train through two mountain ranges, over canyons, across a desert,
and into Los Angeles,
according to the LA Times.

The route, part of a larger plan to connect the northern and
southern regions of California, is estimated to cost $20.2
billion. The high price tag is understandable, given that the
Bakersfield-LA stretch includes the Tehachapi and San Gabriel
Mountains.

The plan is to build the tracks on a combination of tunnels as
deep as 500 feet, and on viaducts over canyons as much as 300
feet above the ground. On top of that, the route crosses a dozen
earthquake faults.

Of course, Vartabedian could have mentioned that high speed
trains have been operating in the very seismically active country
of Japan for nearly 50 years without being negatively impacted by
earthquakes.

The engineering challenges are formidable but not insurmountable:
Southern Pacific Railroad built a rail line through the Tehachapi
Mountains in the 1870s; it is now reserved for freight trains.

The new bullet train will travel at 220 mph and use 2.7 million
kilowatts of electricity daily,
according to the AP. That's the equivalent of one fourth the
output of Hoover Dam.